Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged U.S. President Donald Trump to consider a joint operation to kill Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a phone conversation that took place less than 48 hours before a coordinated U.S.-Israeli strike on Iranian targets, according to sources speaking with Reuters.
People familiar with the matter said the two leaders reviewed updated intelligence in the call, specifically intelligence that pointed to a meeting in Tehran attended by Khamenei and his senior lieutenants. Those sources said Netanyahu characterized the moment as unusually opportune, telling Trump there might not be a better chance to eliminate Khamenei and to avenge alleged Iranian efforts to assassinate Trump.
The timing of the telephone exchange - coming in the days immediately before the joint military operation - suggests it occurred during the final planning phases for the strikes. However, the sources declined to provide details on the intelligence that was shared in the conversation, and they also did not say whether Netanyahu's proposal to target Khamenei was accepted, rejected, or acted upon.
Because the sources did not make the content of the intelligence public, the specifics of what prompted Netanyahu to press the matter remain undisclosed. The available reporting is limited to the existence of the call, the topics described by the sources, and the proximity of the call to the subsequent U.S.-Israeli military action.
Key questions remain unanswered in the reporting: the precise nature of the intelligence about the meeting in Tehran, the operational discussions, and any decisions that followed from the leaders' exchange. The sources' accounts do not indicate outcomes from the proposal or reveal whether Khamenei himself was specifically targeted as part of the strike planning.
Reporting limitations: The facts reported here are drawn from unnamed sources who spoke to Reuters. No additional corroborating detail about the intelligence briefing or the result of Netanyahu's recommendation was provided by those sources.